A most timeless play indeed for any company of actors to put on; though, for the talented group of thespians over at Eastport-South Manor Jr.-Sr. High School, no real-world distractions could heed upon their powerful performances of “The Crucible,” which ran on the high school auditorium stage from Nov. 8th to Nov. 10th.
Based on Arthur Miller’s Tony Award-winning play of the same name, “The Crucible’ was also adapted to the silver screen in 1996. Starring Daniel-Day Lewis and Winona Ryder, the film—and the stage text upon which it was based—have both seen steady action as part of English class curriculum over the following decades.
In a divisive day and age where the term “witch-hunt” has unfortunately resurfaced, up-and-coming artists do not have to suspend their disbelief overly so when receiving motivational direction.
Moreover, Miller’s 1953-penned play was also considered an authentic portrayal of his times plagued by the “Red Scare” paranoia; the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials, meanwhile, took place in the late 1600s.
Of The Crucible’s initial run in 1953, Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times wrote: “Having a sure instinct for dramatic form, Mr. Miller goes bluntly to essential situations.”
“John Proctor and his wife, farm people, are the central characters of the play. At first the idea that Goodie Proctor is a witch is only an absurd rumor,” he added. “But ‘The Crucible’ carries the Proctors through the whole ordeal - first vague suspicion, then the arrest, the implacable, highly wrought trial in the church vestry, the final opportunity for John Proctor to save his neck by confessing to something he knows is a lie, and finally the baleful roll of the drums at the foot of the gallows.”
District educators Toni Borkowski and Adriana Aracri served as ESM’s “Crucible” director and producer, respectively. For research, the latter studied sites related to the trials that spawned centuries of reflection.
She also commends her student actors for putting in countless hours of leg work as well.
“Having the opportunity to explore these stories and history through Miller’s lens has been an exciting and enriching experience for all,” Borkowski said.
In a statement, the Eastport South-Manor School District congratulated its “Crucible” cast members: Kevin Ackerman, Keira Albanese, Sophie Barnes, Coleman Blackler, John Costanza, Pamela Crenshaw, Noah DaSilva, Gianna Fazzolari, Chelsea Gallagher, Emma Gallagher, Jack Gallagher, Douglas Grimmett, Samantha Hayes, Aaron Isaacson, Bennett Leselrod, Kailyn Marra, Steven Noethiger, Logan Penkower, Damian Schmidt, Bella Tesoro and Abigail White.